Environment News – Climate Discussed on Fox News – Wow! The Truth About Bacon
Some bite-sized pieces of news from the environment this week.
17 April, 2019
The Wind Does It!
Scientists have been trying to work out how miicroplastics get absolutely everywhere. Now they know. You’d expect lots of microplastics in big cities, but they’re found in remote places too. Microplastics are tiny fragments broken down from larger pieces of plastic by wind and waves. Like dust, they can get swept up by the breeze and into the atmosphere. And that’s how they get into our air and water and food. It’s a global pollution nightmare.
Sanders on Fox On Climate
Very few Democrats speak on Fox News. But this week Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders was on Fox for an hour – and almost 2.6 million viewers tuned in! Many topics were discussed, but when asked about national security, Sanders talked climate change, saying extreme weather and a difficult future were a horrible legacy for our kids. I think he was clever – he said global warming caused people to migrate due to need for food and water, and migration from the Middle East, for example, would become a national security issue.
Climate was only discussed for 2 minutes – but by mentioning migration, the Middle East and job creation, he was hitting on hot topics for conservative voters. And the audience cheered when he said transitioning to renewable energy would create millions of new jobs.
It was short, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Traffic Disrupted in London, UK
Activists blocked traffic in key London streets last weekend, protesting the lack of action on climate change. The demonstrations were well attended, and are continuing, with many protesters arrested by police. You can see photos of the action by Extinction Rebellion here.
Do You Like Bacon?
I love bacon, although I don’t eat it often. A new study shows that eating processed meat dramatically increases your risk of bowel cancer. So does eating red meat.
Several media articles have rather sensationalised the report. Here are the basic facts.
- Bacon and red meat, when eaten in small quantities once or twice a week or less, are probably fine.
- Increasing the amount of dietary fibre that you eat, will help a great deal – probably more than reducing your meat intake.
- Processed meat cooked on a barbecue is probably the worst way to eat it, due to the high temperatures interacting with the processing chemicals in the meat.
New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine published its annual climate change edition this week. Its cover is a very clever burning Earth made from price stickers.
It’s a great way to highlight how we’re killing the planet with our consumption.
The issue is called “Putting a Price on the End of the World,” and features several articles on the economics of climate change. You can read it here.
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Warm regards,
P.S. Don’t forget to download your free green living handbook “Live Well, Live Green” here.
